Paroxysm
by seleneswan
Summary: Nothing was ever easy between them, and if they were normal people, their world would have ended in a cataclysmic eruption long ago. Luckily, normality was a lifetime away. / 005. "Man, now's there's chocolate in my hair. Thanks." Scorpius said sourly. —Scorpius/Rose.
1. 001: introduction

**P A R O X Y S M**

_Written by: seleneswan_

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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fics. I would be making it reality.

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_chapter title/theme: introduction  
genre: friendship/humor  
words: 1130  
rating: K+_

_warning/caution: (none)_

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**001. introduction**

Contrary to popular belief, Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley had not met during their time as students at Hogwarts. Or on the train, or at platform 9¾. Or even during the sorting.

Of course, neither of them _knew _that they knew each other. They were each just another nameless face in the crowd as they look back on it, a vague memory floating in the slew of cloudy, unmemorable children's days. Even that one day that stuck out in particular took a while to discern among the many and many lengths of recollections.

Each a child, four at the time, was too absorbed in the vibrant, new surroundings to notice much.

The amazing enchanted ceiling that her mother had told her about, the lit candles, the awed faces, the banners of shimmering gold, dark green, navy blue, and maroon. Her four year old mind was quite sharp, and despite her age, she was a clever young girl.

Even smarter than her mother, and inheriting none of her father's lack of common sense but only the red hair that came with his side of the family and a sense of humor reminiscent to that of Fred and George's. And, mysteriously, her eyes were a dark green, so unusual being that no one had green eyes on either side of the family.

A phenomenon indeed.

It was the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. Her mother, father, Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, Albus, and James had traipsed down through the Great Hall.

She wasn't aware of the words being said by her uncle or aunt or even her own mother and father. All she knew is that when her feet touched the marble floor (she was put down after being carried), she took off, waving in a gleeful, childlike manner to the staff members who were torn with the solemnity of the date, and the amusing antics of the child.

Short enough, she wriggled under the table, scampering around by people's feet before selecting a lap and tugging on the robes from beneath the table. In shades of dark green velvet, her fingers grasped around the material and tugged.

The woman above blinked, casting an inconspicuous glance beneath the table. When she saw the small girl, she sighed, attempting to ignore her.

But the lap had been chosen, and with admirable stubbornness, she hoisted herself up on to Headmistress Minerva McGonagall's lap, scooting up cheerfully.

Indeed, her antics were attracting attention from not only the staff, but the student body. Faint chuckles could be heard, but she was oblivious, shifting in to a more comfortable position. Her face scrunched momentarily, becoming pink, before smoothing out in an angelic smile and a giggle.

McGonagall said nothing, but discreetly shifted so Rose would be more comfortable. The little girl giggled enthusiastically, turning around on her makeshift seat and hugging the woman whom she didn't really know. Her slightly chubby arms wrapped part of the way around the elder woman's midsection, and she buried her face among the folds of velvet cloth.

Another family had entered, a reunion from the class most involved in the Battle of Hogwarts. Neville Longbottom, a permanent member of the staff was the only one who had stayed back at Hogwarts from their class.

And then the Malfoys entered. The room hushed, and curiously, Rose turned around, hopped out of the lap, and scampered across the floor. She hurried up behind the podium where her mother was standing, peering out from behind her leg to get a closer view.

She had no eyes for the tall, blonde man with a pointy chin and his wife, her dark locks of hair and beautiful looks, but only for the small boy, perhaps her age, walking with as much dignity as a child of four can walk with.

Now more curious as to whom this boy was, without any shyness at all, she bounded down the steps towards the aisle where they were walking, ignoring the murmurs and whispered commands of her to "Get back here this instant, young lady!" as spoken so eloquently by her mother and the shocked look on her daddy's face.

She ignored the looks received from the boy's parents, but ran up to him with a goofy grin.

"You're pretty!" she exclaimed, bursting out in her characteristic giggles of mirth. She vaguely registered the faint chuckles, and plowed on. Her face scrunched in mild amusement, and she made a statement, decidedly. "You're too pretty to be a boy." She blinked, and then peered closer, squinting her eyes as if to catch something that she might not have. "_Are _you a boy?"

Said boy sniffed in an arrogant manner, or as arrogant as one can get at age four. "Of course I am. I'm the best one there is."

She gasped, shaking her head. "Nu-uh. My daddy is the best boy in the world. And then maybe Al." she had a faintly disgusted look on her face, and then amended. "Well, maybe Hugo. But he's so small and fat." But she discarded the train of thought easily, continuing on.

"What's your name?" She rocked back on her heels, and then forward on the balls of her feet, and back, and forward.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy." He said proudly, puffing his chest out. She giggled.

…And then proceeded to mock him. She stood up straight, walked back a bit, puffed her chest out, and strutted forward, speaking. "I'm Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, the best boy in the world!" It was a childish sort of mocking, with no hate, but incredibly obvious amusement.

And he pouted. She stopped, giggled, and poked him in the middle of his chest.

He stopped, shooting her a childish angry look, and stuck out his tongue.

Behind Rose, she could hear the muffled chortling, and her mother's voice. "Rose Weasley, get back here this _instant!_"

The child sighed, turning around, running towards her mother, and speaking loud enough for anyone to hear. "But Mommy, he's my new best friend!" She tugged on her mother's robes impatiently, and Hermione Weasley sighed.

Rose took this as reconciliation and scampered away, in the middle of the run, grabbing the boy's hand and dragging him along with her, out of the main hall to the portrait of fruit she had seen on her way in. She was barely tall enough to reach the pear, but she somehow managed the bottom, tickling it as she had seen in her mother's copy of _Hogwarts, A History_.

It transformed into a knob, and she pushed it open…

--

The two were found much later on, sitting on the floor of the kitchen, eating an assortment of fruits, all dipped in liquid chocolate, their mouths framed with smears of the molten liquid, and their hands still clasped together.

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_A/N: I must have rewritten this at least five different times before I got it how it is. I hope it's okay... :/ Review, for me? I'll be more motivated to write, thus faster updates. It's not a bribe, it's a fact. _

_IMPORTANT: I have another Harry Potter fic which I am co-authoring with my friend, AkieriN! It is also Scorpius/Rose centric. Read it! It's called **Inevitable**. Check it out and be sure to drop a review!_


	2. 002: love

**P A R O X Y S M**

_Written by: seleneswan_

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Disclaimer: Would I be writing fanfiction if I did? (The answer is no).

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_chapter title/theme: love  
genre: friendship/general  
words: 1242  
rating: K+_

_warning/caution: (none)_

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**002. love**

It was something she'd always had a tendency of doing – running.

Kind of ridiculous, seeing as there was really nothing to run from, and as she looked back on it in retrospective, she supposed she wasn't really running _from _anything, but rather running towards _something else. _Something that she deemed was better.

From a young age, her little feet had her running to and from many places, and her heart was always in exploring. As a child, she clambered and crawled in to various nooks and crannies in the house – ranging from within a large pot in her mother's kitchen cabinets to being nestled in the rain gutters on the roof.

(To this day, no one knew _how_ exactly she managed to get on the roof).

There was always something, though, that she followed, taking her to the craziest, most obscure places.

Her first time escaping at Hogwarts was right after the sorting ceremony.

Before she had walked within the castle from the boats on the lake, she had noticed small lights – fireflies – making the air glow softly, almost in an ethereal manner.

Her attention to the professor's droning lecture left her, and she was in awe.

It was breathtaking.

But as soon as it had appeared, it had vanished when her feet, for once, carried her in the direction away from where she wanted to be, instead following her fellow first-years in to the building.

The doors of the Great Hall loomed ahead, and the woman gave instructions on how to act and what to do, before leading them within the hall.

The chatter of excitement faded a little as she and the others made their way up to the front of the hall. The headmistress, Professor Bones (originally from Hufflepuff) made a short, cheery announcement before the sorting commenced.

Although her body was physically in the Great Hall and her eyes were trained on the gorgeous ceiling which her mother had told her about, her mind was floating away outside, with the glowing specks of wonder.

She vaguely registered something that the woman had said about alphabetically by first name, to change things up a bit, but didn't pay attention until Albus, her cousin, tapped her impatiently on the shoulder before being called to sort.

"Ah, a Potter. Haven't had one of these in a few years. Why, I remember…" the hat said, reminiscing. She tuned the infernal object out, only paying attention again when the letters neared her name.

Professor Longbottom, a family friend of hers and a teacher at Hogwarts called out the next name. "Rose Weasley," and then the name registered as he smiled warmly at her, calling, "Hello, Rosie."

She smiled a bit, and then made her way to the stool. Just as there were with Albus, whispers floated around the room as people recognized her last name. In a similar fashion to which the sorting hat received her father so many years ago, it began. "Ah!" it exclaimed loudly, making her flinch a little. "_Another Weasley!" _

The hat was oddly enthusiastic as it went about its duties of placing her within the correct house. "Hm. Very bright, this one. A dreamer, though, and seemingly not as focused as some. But great potential. The brightest witch I've seen in decades, really. Smarter than your mum," he added, making her flush with a bit of pride.

"Well, not a Slytherin, that's for sure. Not a Hufflepuff, either. Has some of the chivalry, but a lot of smarts. That settles it. _Ravenclaw!" _

And, as per usual, the table cheered.

While the Gryffindor table stared in shock. So unusual…all Weasleys and Potters alike had always been sorted in to Gryffindor…up until Rose. It wasn't as though they had anything against Ravenclaw, but were so used to everyone being of that house.

It was a shock, indeed.

But Rose had paid little attention, her mind far away outside where the firebugs danced and gracefully glided through the air. But as they finished the sorting and the feast began, Rose's feet began to carry her elsewhere.

Only popping a few torn off pieces of bread in her mouth, she chewed silently and moved swiftly and invisibly through the masses. She had made it out in to the corridor, glancing at it and clambered down a few stairs when she heard someone's voice. "Where are you going?"

Her head whipped around, towards a boy her age who had been sorted standing at the top of the steps, looking down at her. She grinned, "Outside. _I'm _going to see the fireflies."

Said boy raised an eyebrow and snootily questioned. "Why?" He had an air of class around him which made Rose's nose crinkle in distaste, but she said nothing about it.

"Because…" she thought about answering the inquiry, before smiling a little again with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Well, why don't you come and see?"

He stood, giving her a disdainful look as she pranced away, but his curiosity overcame him and he bounded down the small set of stairs to the doors of the building, quickly catching up with her. She quickened her step, and pushed open the doorway to give way to darkness that was the Hogwarts night sky.

The wind blew restlessly, and there, in the distance, it was.

The insects were aglow, swimming through air around a beautiful, spindly tree (no, not the Whomping Willow).

With her hands clasped behind her back, she all but forgot of the boy's presence, and immersed herself in the cloud of bugs. Her eyes slipped shut, and she leaned her head back. One perched, gently, on her nose, setting her face alight.

She exhaled as she tried to control her soft laughter; the bug's legs tickled.

Finally, she opened her eyes, and a small smile graced her face. She seemed to register that she was, in fact, not alone, and she turned towards the boy.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she smiled.

He stared impassively for a moment and snorted, derisively. She gave him a sharp look. "Hey, you wanted to come. And this is what you get, so suck it up and don't complain, because it's pretty, no matter what you may say."

He muttered something inaudibly.

And then one landed on his ear. Irritably, he swatted at it, but it flew away just before he could hit it, and he ended up slapping himself. She giggled as it landed on his ear once again, which turned to full blown laughter when his face contorted to resemble somewhat of a pout.

And then the one on his ear breathed a small spurt of fire.

Rose's eyes widened and Scorpius panicked, feeling his hair singed slightly.

"I guess they really are _fire_flies…" she muttered, in awe, as another followed suit of the first one, and blew a string of fire in to the air, and the flames dissipated in to nothing.

And when she asked him again after seating herself against the trunk of the tree, of his opinion on the firebugs, he grudgingly agreed that they were, indeed, pretty cool.

And she laughed.

"I'm Rose, by the way. Rose Weasley."

His eyes narrowed, and he seemed to recall something fleeting from the past, but shook it off, and he stuck out a hand. "Scorpius Malfoy."

She grinned, shaking his hand, before tugging on it, pulling him down to the ground to sit beside her, as they watched the fireflies light the sky.

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_A/N: Urg. I had just as much trouble with this one as the last one. (Rewritten four or five times, at least). I think it turned out semi-okay, though. Feedback, if you please? So drop a review!_


	3. 003: light

**P A R O X Y S M**

_Written by: seleneswan_

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Disclaimer: It would make a nice present for Christmas, but alas…

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_chapter title/theme: light  
genre: humor/friendship  
words: 1155  
rating: K+_

_warning/caution: (none)_

* * *

**003. light**

Professor Eisner, a short and comfortably plump woman stood in the center of the classroom, clearing her throat loudly and calling for attention.

First years, she thought with mild amusement at their antics. A small boy would not stop waving his wand around in the class just ten minutes prior, and she had to confiscate it before he had the chance to poke his own eye out.

Or cast an accidental spell.

Or…something of the sort. Mentally, she scolded herself. She'd rather not delve in to the numerous possibilities of _what_ could go wrong.

It was only her first year as a professor at Hogwarts, a position she was rather anxious to fulfill. But she never anticipated that she'd be _nervous _of all things. Of her students, especially.

With a vindicated gleam in her eye, she steeled herself full of confidence, plastered a smile on her place, and pulled out her wand. _"Silencio." _

She smiled again, pleased with herself when the room fell silent immediately. "Now then. My name is Auburn Eisner, but you will address me as Professor Eisner, or ma'am. This is my first year at Hogwarts, and I will be your Charms teacher. Disobedience is not tolerated, and I have quite a list of things to be done for those lucky enough to earn themselves a detention." She undid the spell, and the class fell back in to a gentle chatter.

Rose sat, swinging her legs and poring over a Charms book. Her hands were clasped in her lap, and her hair was pulled back – a habit that she had developed for whenever she read anything. She was rather enthralled at the content of the book – particularly at the_Aresto Momentum_spell. She was just beginning to delve in to the mechanics of slowing objects in certain patches versus changing and even stopping time altogether, thus slowing everything in the vicinity when a hand tapped on her shoulder.

Tearing her attention away from her textbook, she looked inquisitively up. "Yes?"

A girl stood, no older than her, of course, being that they were all first-years. With long, dark hair reaching her lower back and delicate features, she literally looked like a porcelain doll. A pair of deep blue-black eyes fixed her with an inquisitive stare. "Is this seat taken?" she spoke softly, gesturing to the vacant one next to Rose. Said redhead shook her head, and smiled tentatively.

"Hi, I'm Rose. Rose Weasley." She mentally weighed whether she should add the last part or not, but finally made the decision, continuing, "Ravenclaw."

The other girl's unfathomable gaze flickered momentarily at the last name, but she nodded in response, offering her own. "Danica Vous, and I'm a Ravenclaw, too."

Rose cocked her head to the side. "Vous? You're from France, then? Why aren't you at Beauxbaton's Academy of Magic?"

Danica shrugged. "My heritage is French, but I was born in London – my parents are Muggles, you see. My father owns a line of jewelry stores based in London."

Rose nodded. "My mother was born by Muggles, but my father is a pure-blood." She paused for a short moment. "I suppose that means I'm a mutant."

Danica laughed lightly, and then class began. Professor Eisner clapped her hands, effectively regaining the attention of the class. "Most years, the first-years in Charms start with the _Wingardium Leviosa_ spell. Can anyone tell me what that is?"

Reminiscent of her mother, Rose's hand shot into the air first. When Professor Eisner nodded at Rose, she began. "_Wingardium_ _Leviosa_ is a spell, very basic with the general Swish-And-Flick movement of the wrist. It makes objects float and effectively controls the movement of said object with the wand. For example, if the wand was to point towards the ground, your object of choice would touch down. It doesn't float forever, you know." She added, smartly.

Eisner smiled slightly. "Excellent, Miss Weasley. Five points for Ravenclaw."

Rose smiled smugly as Eisner continued her spiel. "However, this year, we're mixing things up a bit. I have decided that we'll begin Charms with a spell of utmost importance: _Lumos._" She let her eyes roam the class. "Anyone care to tell what that is?"

This time, across the room, Scorpius Malfoy's hand shot up, making a point to lock gazes with Rose. She twitched, raising her own hand. But alas, as it was a teacher's duty to call on those who have never answered, she picked Scorpius, who began promptly answering the easy question.

"_Lumos_ is a basic spell which is used to create light. When the witch or wizard uses the _Lumos_ spell, the tip of the wand glows brightly, successfully lighting up the area. There are different stages of _Lumos_, such as Lumos Maximus, which is much brighter, like the brighter lights on a Muggle car, but doesn't last as long because of the power it takes to sustain it. The _Maximus_ part of the _Lumos_ _Maximus_ spell can be tacked on to the end of many spells to enhance them."

Professor Eisner nodded. "Very nicely said, Mr. Malfoy. Five points to Slytherin." She paused, seeming to regain her train of thought while Scorpius smirked smugly at Rose, who narrowed her eyes, but did nothing. Danica snickered softly.

"Open your books to page 15, please." Professor Eisner instructed. "You may follow along while I summarize the page in a few sentences. The pictures on the side should provide a visual guide as to what, exactly, I am talking about."

And without further a due, she taught them the _Lumos_ spell.

Being her mother's daughter, Rose paid close attention despite her complete prior knowledge of the spell and even how to perform it. Nonetheless, she dipped a quill in black ink, and scribbled down the information in curlicue handwriting, dating it in the corner and filing it away within the recesses of her bag.

With ten minutes left of class, Eisner finished her lesson, and moved on to the practical part of the class.

It was then that things went awry. Mikhail Andres, a Hufflepuff said the two syllable incantation wrong. Mentally, Rose sighed. _Is he deaf? It's not _that _hard. _

Next to her, Danica snorted softly in disdain. "What was it he said? Lumus?" Rose let a small smile turn the corners of her mouth.

However, it was when Mikhail tried again, this time saying, "_Loonus_," was when things went horribly wrong. All the lamps and sources of light in the room exploded into confetti and glitter in an outwardly display of lunacy.

And then, the room was in darkness.

A few girls (the _dimwits_, Rose railed mentally) screamed, overturning tables, and in all the panic, Rose swore she heard some glass shatter.

Fumbling for her wand, she muttered the incantation quickly, but just as her wand was lighting up, so was another.

And in the darkness, with their wands aloft and lit, the shadows playing on the soft angles of their faces, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy saw only each other.

* * *

_A/N: Erm. Still unsatisfied with the ending; I wanted it to be more of an "awww" moment than it is at its current state, but I've left this story...anthology hanging without a chapter long enough, and so...here's an update. (: BTW. Happy birthday, **AkieriN**. :D _

_(You have no idea how tempted I was to write Baryshnikov after Mikhail. xD But Mikhail could hardly be a Russian ballerina in this fic)._

_Oh, and special thanks to **Ssgirly236** for help with putting this chapter together and her superamazing ideas. _

_Oh, and of course, Happy Christmas-Hannukah-Kwanzaa-Other to everyone else. (:_


	4. 004: dark

_on sunday, april 4th, **dthegreat**, pointed out a typo and it has been fixed, making this chapter infinitely better and more understandable. :D_

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**P A R O X Y S M**

_Written by: seleneswan_

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Disclaimer: Hm, my birthday passed a while ago, so if anyone would like to give it to _me_…

**dedication: **_to my lovely SSgirly236. :D happy belated birthday, girl. I'll see what I can do about the life size cut out of rupert grint. ;)_

* * *

_chapter title/theme: dark  
genre: general/suspense  
__words: 1150  
rating: K+_

_warning/caution: minor thematic elements (er...drowning)._

* * *

**004. dark**

The darkness swam around her like calming ripples over the lake just outside that she frequented during her free time. She could feel the nothingness, and was suspended in this state of awareness and unconsciousness.

Her eyelids were heavily shut, and her body sunk deeper into the mattress, her legs half curled, and buried herself further in to the mass of goose-down feathered comforter.

The enticing call of unconsciousness sung its siren call, and she leapt overboard, tumbling headfirst for the deep ocean of dreams.

--

She was drowning.

The water seemed to lap at her sides, pulling her under, and she could swear that something foreign and slimy was wrapping around her leg, firmly attaching to her and pulling her under.

She struggled, but suddenly her arms felt like cinder blocks, and she could no longer lift them. The water flowed over her, cresting far above her head before she broke the surface again, gasping in shock and coughing wildly, trying to dispel the saltwater from her throat.

Then, without warning, all fell silent.

The waves were still relentless, and her panic was clear, but as she opened her mouth to scream, nothing came out. The sounds of water had disappeared, and as she looked down, the water cleared, to reveal a fleet of mermaids, singing enchanting reveries.

She wanted to leave the air, the surface.

But as her face ducked beneath the water, the panic and shock settled in again, and she tried to scream again, but only succeeded in getting a mouthful of water.

No one was coming for her, that much was clear.

She teared up, her eyes burning not only with the unclean water but the tears,

And all in one instant, it became all too clear that she was alone. Alone in the world, alone in the sea.

No one was going to save her.

She tried to scream again…

--

…and jolted awake.

Her heart was pounding, and she inhaled sharply, staring up at the ceiling above her bed. The shadows of furniture even in the dark crept around her, and with uneasiness still welling in the pit of her stomach, she sat up.

Her hands rested lightly in her lap, and she was faintly aware that she was slightly perspiring. Her gaze was trained on her lap, and with concentration, she traced the patterns of the wrinkles in the comforter with her eyes.

But the images kept flashing back to her.

Drowning, drowning, drowning.

_I can't breathe._

With panic, she slid out of bed and slipped on her panda slippers, tip-toeing to the bathroom quickly, haunted by the strange feeling of being followed. As she got the bathroom and turned the light on, she let out a sigh of relief, taking in her haggard appearance in the mirror.

Systematically, she took her brush and raked it through her hair quickly, braiding it easily. She turned on the tap to the sink, letting the cool water flow through before splashing some on her face, rubbing out the sleepiness from herself, but was unable to wash away the memory of the dream.

She straightened out her racerback tank top and pulled the leg of her pajama pants back in to place, as it had risen during her thrashing in her sleep.

She left the bathroom light on, letting it illuminate her way back and find her wand and sweater in the darkness.

Soundlessly, she switched off the bathroom light and slipped out of her room, down the steps, out of the common room, and in to the hallway. In the darkness, her muscles tightened, prepared for something to happen.

She tensed, walking down the deserted hallway quickly. Even with her wand lit, she couldn't shake the feeling, and the darkness that was swallowing from behind certainly didn't help.

Without realizing where she was going, she had somehow made it outside, and she was suddenly standing in front of the lake in the cold night.

Staring out at the black water that seemed so peaceful in the mornings, the adrenaline that was rushing through her kick started, and she could distinctly remember the feeling of suffocation.

The night was so quiet.

Hands shaking, she turned around quickly, about to run back in the building as she started to sprint. But her flight was abruptly stopped when she slammed in to a person, their hands curling around her elbows as the person caught a hold of her to keep both of their balances.

She screamed, the terrors suddenly filling her. Hot tears flooded her eyes, and as the hand came over her mouth, her screaming only increased; she struggled and thrashed around.

But the hand had a firm hold on her and over her mouth, and…

_I can't breathe._

She bit his hand. Somewhere along the way, she had dropped her wand in the panic. As she valiantly tried to fight her way out of the grasp, the tears blurred her vision to an extent that she couldn't see, even in the darkness.

And then, "Weasley! _Shut_ _up."_

She froze and her screams stopped in her throat.

The hands slowly let her go, and she collapsed on the ground, trembling slightly. Soft, hitched breaths escaped her mouth every few seconds. She could hear her heartbeat, rushed and loud.

Her hands reached to her face to rub away the tears.

And tentatively, in the dark, she blindly patted around her to find her runaway wand. Her fingers closed around the cherry wood and brushed over the grass. She gripped it tight, and then without any warning, she shoved it upward, launching herself up to point it threateningly at her attacker's neck.

"_Lumos." _She whispered, and Scorpius's face was revealed.

She dropped her wand again, and for the second time, her legs failed her from the shock.

But instead of collapsing to the ground, he caught her, and they stumbled backwards, before losing balance completely and falling…

… into the water of the lake.

The air vanished from her lungs in seconds, and the swimming lessons she had as a child failed her. Eyes wide, she could see nothing in the complete darkness of the lake at night.

The scream that had caught in her throat earlier was freed, and her mouth opened on reflex as she thrashed around in the water.

Briny, salty water whooshed in to her mouth, searing a path down to her lungs. She couldn't tell which way was up or down, and for a moment, she thought she went blind, the pure blackness around her swallowing her up.

And out of the darkness, a hand clasped around her wrist, dragging her somewhere. In the panic, she fought it, still grappling with the water.

Her head broke the surface, and she began to cough, sea water spilling from her mouth. His arms caught her and dragged her up, and she clung to them this time, for life.

* * *

_A/N: I apologize for the wait, and althought it might seem weird to say it, I kind of rushed the chapter more than I usually do. I mean, it took forever to find an appropriate plot line, but then I just wrote it...considerably faster than usual. I don't think it's nearly as powerful as it should be, and it's dwarfed by fluffiness of the other chapters, just a bit. Concrit is appreciated. (: Review, please! _


	5. 005: seeking solace

_once again, on sunday, april 18th, **dthegreat** has pulled through for me again and has pointed out more typos; for this, I owe her a world of gratitude._

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**P A R O X Y S M**

_Written by: seleneswan_

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Disclaimer: It'll never happen, no matter how hard I wish.

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_chapter title/theme: seeking solace  
genre: friendship/humor  
words: 1274  
rating: K+_

_warning/caution: (none)_

* * *

**005. seeking solace**

Rose Weasley was a curious person, he mused. Quite honestly, he wasn't sure how she had ended up on his mind, but she had an inane ability to worm her way into his head and latch on to his brain, refusing to leave.

Not quite parasitic, but getting there.

(He ought to get that pest control spray that Muggles use. What was it called…? Ah, yes. _Raid_.)

Nonetheless, he continued with his train of thought, despite the looming threat of parasitism.

She was smart, he decided quickly. That was for sure. She was intelligent, very much so. But for such an intelligent person, her common sense seemed to evade her much more than was necessary.

His own father had told him that her father, Ronald, had that lack of logic more frequently, too. He supposed she had her mother's brains but her father's stupidity, all rolled in to one.

If she didn't implode soon from the two polar opposites, he would be vaguely surprised.

She was a fighter, stubborn. He hadn't quite known her long enough, but he knew from the start that once she wanted something, she would get it, no matter what it took. Like that time with the escape attempt from the Great Hall during the Sorting to go watch fireflies.

God forbid anyone invent _rules_ that should be _followed_. (And he was most certainly _not _a hypocrite for thinking that). For all that rule-breaking, he wasn't entirely sure why she _wasn't _sorted in to Gryffindor. She could at least be clever about sneaking away and use some dark path where no one can see, but instead, she chooses to walk out in plain sight.

He pondered this for a moment as he walked down various hallways. Walking always helped him think better.

Then again, hiding in plain sight, they say, is the best place. Escaping probably works the same way.

Which meant she was clever. Unbearably so. Possibly (he strained the word possibly in his mind) even cleverer than Slytherins, like himself, who were noted to be sly and clever.

Which led him to the question of why she wasn't placed in Slytherin. Dumb question, he supposed. It's in her blood to not be placed in Slytherin, ever.

And she could never be a Hufflepuff. They were too…ordinary. Much like leftovers. Nothing special. Fine, they said that they were loyal and kind, but everyone knows that's just an excuse. He sniffed, pushing his hand through his hair impatiently.

_What was he doing?_

He tugged slightly on the strands, before dropping his hand to his side heavily and stopping.

_Why was he thinking about her? _

He let out a frustrated noise, shoving his hands in his pockets when he smelled chocolate. He looked up momentarily, head swiveling around. He barely saw her for a moment when she walked swiftly passed him, but not before murmuring the witty remark. "Malfoy. We're mature people. Use your _words." _

In retaliation, he just let out another unintelligible non-word noise. She just laughed, walking farther away.

Belatedly, he realized that she was the one that smelled like chocolate, and that tucked under her arm was a large crystal pitcher, filled with melted chocolate.

He frowned.

_What on earth is she doing…?_

And more importantly, _WHY DOES HE KEEP THINKING ABOUT HER. Ahem._

Without really registering what he was doing, his feet were moving him forward after her. He pushed past some random people, a House Head, and a couple making out, ignoring the protests behind him.

She turned in to the Great Hall, and he followed, his steps slowing as he peered in from the doorway. She made her way to one of the tables where, spread around, were various foods. Every moment or so, a house elf would pop in and add another food item.

Taking it upon himself to get to the bottom of it, he walked over. "What the bloody hell are you _doing?_"

She sputtered for a moment. Without heeding her protests and the jumble of nonsensical words spewing from her mouth, he reached for a pretzel and popped it in his mouth, chewing.

She sniffed, reaching in to her bag and pulling out some parchment and a quill. "I don't see why that's your business." She muttered as she rummaged through her things.

He sat down on the other side of the table, plucking a marshmallow and ignoring her response, waiting.

She wrote down some things, and proceeded to pour the pitcher full of chocolate in to a serving-sized bowl. "Well, since you are obstructing my work with your presence and _eating my experiment_," she paused and looked at him pointedly. "_I _am finding my one true love."

Scorpius, who was munching on some nuts, started coughing. _"What?"_

She snorted, rummaging in her bag once again, unearthing a hair tie. She finger-combed her hair before pulling it up in a bun. "Comfort food." She smiled wickedly, excited.

He still had a slightly blank look on his face. "You know. Food. That comforts. Which I love." She sighed, explaining the whole thing. "You see, I'm testing out every combination of some food dipped in chocolate, because chocolate is the mother of all comfort foods, and then writing down my thoughts about it to narrow down what I truly love. For the hypothetical hard times when I may desperately need comfort."

He grappled with the idea for a moment, struggling. Finally, he remarked, "That's dumb."

She ignored this, and proceeded to dip a strawberry in chocolate, eating.

"Mm, that's good." She mumbled through seconds. "Winky!" she called, and a house elf appeared. She turned her back to him, talking about strawberries to the house elf, when he noted that there were a few spoons laid out.

Smirking to himself, he scooped the chocolate to the brim of the spoon, waiting. As she turned back around, he pulled the spoon back and let it fly.

The moment wasn't in slow motion by any means. The chocolate flew off of the spoon, landing with a small _smack _on her cheek, and then dripping downward.

Rose was paralyzed, but then she moved, slowly. She reached up to her face, attempting to wipe it off but only managing to smear it around. "Malfoy." She hissed, but there was a telltale glint in her eye that made him wary. "This is _war."_

That was all she said before she picked up the bowl, reached across the foods, and dumped the whole thing on his head.

Everything after that was a flurry of motions. He tossed the white chocolate while she retaliated with the orange slices.

Grapes. Pretzels. Pistachios, almonds. Blueberries, and then cream puffs. The list went on.

Shrieks and laughter were all that were heard, and then Scorpius went for the gold. Holding the pitcher, he dumped the whole thing at her, but a lot managed to end up on the floor. She took a step, slipped in chocolate, and began to fall forward.

Reflexively, he reached across the table to catch her elbows, smearing some chocolate from him on to her.

She was still for a moment, and then her head drooped forward, concealing her grin. And then she began to laugh, giggling, chuckling, snickering, laughing. She threw her head back then, laughing like a crazy person.

A small grin formed on his face as he mentally added _lunatic _to his list of characteristics about her.

Rose Weasley was curious, indeed.

* * *

_A/N: Fast update! :D This one was easy, because I love to write about food (you should try it; it's so much fun!). Although this one was less about eating and more about playing with it, food is food. And well...when I saw the theme, I like freaked out because, uh, hello, FOOD. Ahem, anyways. Hope you like it as much as I did (because, like, food. Need I say anymore?) _

_Review, please~ (:_


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